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49ers win 48-3 The overwhelming win by the 49ers has caused Fox to re-shuffle their broadcasting lineup. Suddenly, the game next Sunday in Detroit looks titanic, so Fox is going to Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa on that game. They did the game today at Candlestick Park. The 49ers may have to go […]
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One of the best linebackers to ever play at a school known as Linebacker U., LaVar Arrington identified NaVorro Bowman as one of Penn State’s next great linebackers several years ago.
In fact, Arrington felt so strongly about his protege that he asked …
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Optimism abounds among the 49er Faithful, with good reason.
After one-quarter of the season, the Niners find themselves alone in first place atop the NFC’s West Division with a 3-1 record. Their nearest competitors are 1-3.
Is it too early to start tal…
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Q:We heard a little bit of (coach Jim) Harbaugh after the game. As a player, does all that yelling and stuff inspire you?

A: (laughs) Yeah, as a team we definitely have taken on his personality, just embracing everything that he has to offer us. I think it shows tremendously out there.

Q:I know you don’t want to say bad things about (Mike) Singletary, but I’m curious: Did he give similar speeches to Harbaugh?

A: He probably did – Singletary was a great speaker. I think the thing with Singletary was that he gave his speeches too soon. He was just one of those guys that whatever was in his heart, he just had to spit it out right now, he couldn’t just save it. So he would have a great speech for us, but he’d give it to us on a Tuesday, on our day off.

Q:So in the best sense of the word, Harbaugh is a little more conniving?

A: Yeah, most definitely. He saves his best speeches for right before the game.

Q:Coming into the Eagles game, I’m sure you saw the press clippings – the Eagles have (Dominique Rogers-)Cromartie and Asante Samuel and Nnamdi (Asomugha). … Tell me how you guys beat the Eagles’ trio of big-time cornerbacks.

A: Just using great technique. Basically, the line just protected for us, allowed us to try to get open and allowed Alex to get back there and read the defense. We know if we put everything together, we can get open versus anybody – we can make big plays all across the board. (Receivers) coach Johnny Morton is doing a great job with our technique and everything, and we just need to really put it together. This was a great overall job by the offensive line and Alex Smith to allow myself, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis to do what we did to that secondary.

Q:Everyone is speculating, but you probably know: What’s the difference between Alex Smith from last year as opposed to this year?

A: It’s not a big difference at all. It’s a different offense, which helps because this offense allows him to get the ball out of his hands since he has a lot of progression reads and he’s not back there overthinking and trying to make plays – he can just get the ball out of his hands. If you’re open you’re open, if you’re not it’s a check-down; it’s those type of reads. I think this offense is more like his offense at Utah.

Q:Is he more confident in the huddle, though – are his eyes different?

A: No, he’s always the same. I would say he’s more comfortable. He’s always had the confidence, but with this offense being more like the offense where he had all that success at Utah coming out of college, I think he’s a lot more comfortable in this offense. He just goes through the reads like it’s nothing now. He just makes all the right reads, he’s not turning the ball over, he’s taking care of the ball, he’s not throwing picks or anything.

Q:It was great to see the Philly fans shut up – they’re such a loud, vocal group of fans. Is there anything you can share that you heard yelled from any of the fans in Philly? I’m sure they were shocked.

A: I’ll be honest with you – I’m from Washington, D.C., so I’ve been to a lot of Philly games. And that was most definitely a tale of two halves, but they went from literally talking about everybody on our team, talking about our mothers, saying all the most hateful and hurtful stuff they could say – and then that second half they ended up rooting for us. You ended up hearing Niners chants. It was crazy, it felt like a home game in the second half.

The KNBR Conversation is a weekly Q&A culled from interviews conducted on KNBR 680/1050 AM.

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Before he was teaming up with Patrick Willis, 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman was linked to another legendary linebacker, LaVar Arrington.
Bowman and Arrington both went to Penn State – Linebacker U – and they formed a close teacher-student friendship during Bowman’s three seasons at State College.
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In Sunday’s game at Candlestick Park between the Buccaneers and 49ers, both teams will be in pursuit of power. The “Power” run play is a signature feature of San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh’s offense; the Bucs, behind 247-pound running back LeGarrette…
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Jim Harbaugh threw 129 career touchdowns, led his team to an AFC Championship Game and directed enough second-half charges to earn the nickname “Captain Comeback.”
So, naturally, one of the proudest moments of Harbaugh’s 15-year career didn’t end in an end zone. It began, and concluded, at the bottom of a pile.
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DT Isaac Sopoaga (infection) is doubtful. CB Shawntae Spencer (toe) is questionable and WR Michael Crabtree (foot), RB Frank Gore (ankle), G Mike Iupati (neck), G Adam Snyder (hamstring) are all probable. Gore was asked about his comments earlier today to ESPN in which he said the Eagles did not want to play any more. […]
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When running back Frank Gore said the 49ers knocked the fight out of them, he’s absolutely right. At the end of the game, the 49ers ran the same play SIX straight times and the Eagles couldn’t stop it. Gore scored on a power run with Chilo Rachal in the game as an extra lineman and […]
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Frank Gore apparently didn’t think much of the Eagles’ second-half effort last week. According to a report from ESPN, while Gore appeared on their show “First Take” to discuss the 49ers big come-back win over Philadelphia, he declared “I think playing that second half the way we came out, the Eagles didn’t want to play […]
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OK, this doesn’t rival the initial meeting between former Niners running back Xavier Omon and his half-brother, Chargers defensive tackle Ogemdi Nwagbuo, before the preseason finale, but it’s along the same lines.
On Sunday, 49ers safety Reggie Smith will meet his cousin, Tampa Bay backup cornerback Elbert Mack, for the first time. Smith and Mack’s great-grandmothers are sisters.
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— Niners coach Jim Harbaugh has deemed it an instant masterpiece.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio mentioned it in the same breath as the most famous play in franchise history.
Yes, defensive tackle Justin Smith’s game-saving strip of Ea…
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— A former seventh-round pick, 49ers backup nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois says he’s heard it all before.
He’s too small. Too slow. And too weak.
On Sunday, it appears, Jean Francois will have the best opportunity of his career to show what ability …
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Less than an hour after defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga was “highly unlikely” to play against the Buccaneers on Sunday, Sopoaga’s backup, Ricky Jean Francois made it clear he’s serious about filling Sopoaga’s various roles.
Could Jean Francois, like Sopoaga, also play fullback against Tampa Bay?
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There is a general sense that the 49ers’ West Coast Offense is more complex than That Offense They Ran Last Year.
When it comes to beating the blitz, though, San Francisco’s has simplified things, as wide receiver Josh Morgan explained Wednesday.
Last season, Morgan said, an opponent’s blitz set off a chain reaction on the offense. The receivers would cut off their routes and the quarterback would find the open receiver.
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The mysterious nature of staph infections themselves and the 49ers policy of refusing to talk about most injuries allows for Isaac Sopoaga’s infection to be open to a range of possibilities. They’re also contagious until the infection is resolved which is one reason we haven’t seen the big, benevolent presence of Sopoaga this year. Wide […]
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No shock here: Alex Smith has been at his best this season when targeting Vernon Davis.
Smith had an astronomical 124.0 rating when targeting his Pro Bowl tight end last year and that number hasn’t changed much (121.7) through the first four games.
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